Medical Report Offers New Hope for Spinal Cord Injury Victims

When we contemplate the effects of an Oregon spinal cord injury one of the most tragic realities is the knowledge that such injuries are often irreversible. Months of hard work with a physical therapist may do much to make things better, but rarely does a patient have any real hope of returning to life as it was before an Oregon car accident or some other tragedy caused the spinal cord injury.

A recent medical study, however, holds out the prospect that scientists are taking some early steps toward changing this. The La Jolla Light reported recently on a study by biologists at the University of California – San Diego. Working in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Oregon, the scientists focused on “more than 70 genes that play a role in regenerating nerves after injury.”
According to the newspaper, the two-year project uncovered “a set of genetic leads that may one day result in therapies to repair spinal cord injuries and other common kinds of nerve damage, such as a stroke.”
The researchers focused on genetic materials that both promote and inhibit the regeneration of nerve cells, with special attention paid to axons, “the thread-like extensions of nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses to other nerve cells.” Discovering ways to encourage the regrowth of damaged nerves and their component parts would be a key breakthrough in the battle to help spinal cord injury victims truly recover from their injuries.

A Portland spinal cord injury attorney can help patients struggling to cope with the aftermath of a serious Oregon brain or spinal cord injury. It is an unfortunate reality of our society that victims must often fight to receive the care and treatment they need in the aftermath of a serious injury. Medical research holds much promise for the future, but it needs to work hand-in-hand with our justice system to ensure that victims get the care they need here and now.